Table 2 gives the number of prosecutions and convictions for road traffic offences. It is not possible to provide the total number of prosecutions and convictions for offences which involved a bicycle. Court prosecution and conviction datasets do not include background information, so offences such as criminal damage involving a bicycle cannot be separately identified.

2 Data cover the calendar years 1998 to 2005 (figures are available only up to 2005) and are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

It is not possible to routinely reconcile the number of people charged for an offence by the PSNI and prosecution and conviction data, as PSNI data denote each offence as it has been initially recorded and this may differ from the offence for which a suspect or suspects are subsequently proceeded against in the courts.

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many deaths have been recorded on the roads which involved a bicycle or bicycles in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998. [HL1260]

Lord Rooker: The following table shows the number of fatalities in Northern Ireland resulting from collisions involving a pedal cycle from 1998 to 2006. Official statistics for 2007 have not yet been finalised.

Pedal cyclists

other road users

1998

7

0

1999

1

0

2000

4

0

2001

2

0

2002

3

0

2003

2

0

2004

2

0

2005

4

0

2006

1

0

Source: PSNICentral Statistics Unit

British Waterways

Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the total funding provided to British Waterways in the past five years; what is its budget for the current year; and what is the proposed funding in 2008-09. [HL1214]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The formal Comprehensive Spending Review settlement for 2008-09 to 2010-11 has been announced and will now be followed by Defra's own financial allocation process, which will take account of the department's full range of priorities. Final allocations will be known in February. At this stage, I am hopeful that the budget for British Waterways will broadly be flat cash over the three-year period.

Core government grant for British Waterways for the current year is £66.9 million comprising £55.5 million from Defra and £11.4 million from the Scottish Government. Other sources of funding include its commercial income of just under £100 million and grants from a range of sources; for example, for freight and regeneration activities.

Year

Defra grant

Scottish Government Grant

Total £m

2006-07

55.5

12.4

67.9

2005-06

62.6

12.0

74.6

2004-05

59.1

12.7

71.8

2003-04

76.6

12.6

89.2

2002-03

71.6

13.8

85.4

Building Regulations

Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have any plans to develop a Code for Sustainable Buildings which applies to non-domestic buildings in the same way that the Code for Sustainable Homes applies to new housing stock. [HL1221]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government are committed to dramatically improving the energy performance of new non-domestic buildings and are currently developing their proposals on this for consultation later this year.

In addition, the Government are keen to build on the momentum that already exists in this sector to see

21 Jan 2008 : Column WA7

a wider improvement in the sustainability of these types of buildings. A number of sustainability assessment tools are already being used by many organisations and we would like to see their uptake increased. Options for achieving this are currently being considered and will be included in our consultation document later this year.

Business Travel: Private Car Allowance

Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:

On what date the 40 pence per mile maximum non-taxable allowance for use of private cars for business travel was fixed by the HM Revenue and Customs; and what they estimate the figure would now be allowing (a) for change in the retail prices index and (b) the change in the AA and RAC calculated cost of motoring. [HL1379]

Lord Davies of Oldham: The tax-free mileage allowance is part of the approved mileage allowance payments (AMAPs) scheme which is a statutory scheme introduced with effect from April 2002. The allowance was set at a rate of 40p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and at 25p per mile thereafter.

AMAPs cater for a wide range of car drivers and the rates are designed to take into account all relevant factors. They strike a balance between allowing the running costs of all cars, large and small, and delivering the Government's environmental policy.

The Government estimate that the increase in the 40p rate using the retail prices index would be 47p per mile for 2007-08. However, this index includes the prices of goods and services that are not directly related to the cost of motoring and it does not take into account the increase in fuel economy of cars manufactured since 2002. It is not possible to compare the rate with the AA and RAC calculated costs of motoring as costs depend on type of car, engine size, fuel type and miles driven.

Civil Service: Ethnicity and Gender Balance

Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 13 December (WA 78) concerning their policy that the Civil Service should be representative of the population that it serves in respect of gender, black and minority ethnic and disability, what targets they have for male and female heterosexuals, male and female homosexuals, black and other ethnic minorities and disabled persons. [HL1183]

Lord Davies of Oldham: There are targets for the senior Civil Service in relation to black and other ethnic minorities and disabled persons. These targets are found at www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/diversity/monitoring.asp. There are no service-wide targets on black and other ethnic minorities, or disabled people at other grades. There is no service-wide monitoring of sexual orientation. The new diversity strategy for the Civil Service will be published in 2008.

21 Jan 2008 : Column WA8

Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 13 December (WA 78), how they define disabled persons. [HL1184]

Lord Davies of Oldham: The definition of a disabled person used by Her Majesty's Government is the same as that found in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 13 December (WA 78), whether they seek to ensure that the Civil Service is representative of the population as a whole in respect of religious belief. [HL1185]

Lord Davies of Oldham: There is no service-wide monitoring of religion or belief.

Common Agricultural Policy: Single Farm Payment

Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they will meet Slovenian European Union presidency representatives to discuss the common agricultural policy financial review and the future of farm support payments systems, prior to the proposed European Union Commission responses in the second quarter of this year. [HL1316]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Commission published a consultation on the mid-term review of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the so-called health check, last November. The Commission is due to issue legislative proposals in May and the dossier is scheduled to be completed under the French presidency before the end of 2008. The Government have been discussing the CAP health check with the Slovenian presidency, the European Commission and all other member states since the launch of the consultation and will continue to do so throughout 2008, including at the monthly meetings of the European Agriculture Council.